But one surprising and notable absence on our list is the much-adored
Mazda
Mx-5 Miata. While track nerds and weekend drivers love the little roadster, it just didn’t have the pep to compete.

“The Miata is fun and handles well and will beat some of those cars on a racetrack, but it doesn’t have the horsepower to accelerate from zero to 60 quickly, ” says Dan Edmunds, the director of vehicle testing for Edmunds.com. “Handling and cornering speed are where the fun is for many, but acceleration is a different factor. “

Another note: Our list includes only cars. Had we included pickup trucks, the $26,410
Toyota
Tundra (zero to 60 mph in 5.1 seconds) would have qualified.

Finding Speed for Nonluxury Prices

The trick to finding a quick car is knowing where and how to look: Models like the Mitsubishi Lancer Ralliart and Mazda Mazdaspeed3 go zero to 60 in 5.8 and 6.4 seconds, respectively, because they are short, lightweight and turbocharged. They don’t need huge engines in order to speed up quickly because they don’t weight a whole lot to begin with.

If you want to hold the price down on a sporty car, it’ll also help to forgo engine upgrades altogether. Take the Chevrolet Camaro, for instance, which fell just short of making our list: With a sprint time of 6.7 seconds, the V6 version wasn’t fast enough; the $31,795 V8 SS variant, although fast, was a bit too pricey.

The same attitude of thrift should apply to creature comforts like leather seats and technology packages–opting out of those means your car will be lighter, faster and less expensive. But that sacrifice of the finer things in life shouldn’t be too much of a problem for most buyers in this range. Cars like the Subaru Impreza WRX and Mazda’s hatchbacks are loved for their rough-and-tumble rally personalities, not for interior frippery or extra design cues.

That said, Ford has done a great job in the last few years of making small cars with high quality and decent interior design. (The two ‘stangs on our list indicate that commitment.)

“Hyundai has done remarkably well over the past couple of years, and we’re expecting Kia will be on a similar trajectory that Hyundai has been,” Lyman says.

A final thought on getting something fast and frugal: Luxury brands like BMW and Mercedes-Benz will always command a price premium that puts their wares just out of reach for someone looking to save money. The BMW 1-Series coupe would have made our list when it was first introduced, but recent price increases have bumped the base price of a 128i to $30,950. And buying one for even that price is unlikely, Edmunds says.

The cars come so loaded with upgrades and extras that paying even $35,000 would be a lucky deal.